California fines 8 hospitals $437K for patient safety issues

Mackenzie Bean (Twitter) -

The California Department of Public Health collectively issued $437,425 in fines to eight California hospitals for licensing compliance issues that caused or were likely to cause patient harm or death.

The penalized incidents occurred between 2012 and 2018. Here is a breakdown of the penalties:

1. Mercy Medical Center Redding was fined $75,000 for a 2016 medical error that led to a patient's death.

2. Adventist Health St. Helena incurred a $50,000 fine for a 2012 incident in which a patient exited a locked mental health unit and attempted suicide.

3. Health officials fined El Centro Regional Medical Center $31,350 for failing to provide timely and appropriate care for an emergency department patient with chest pain in 2015.

4. Mercy Hospital (Bakersfield) received an $83,250 penalty for a 2018 medication error that caused a pregnant woman to experience seizures.

5. Adventist Health Hanford incurred a $42,750 penalty for retention of a foreign object in a patient after a 2017 surgery.

6. Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (Valencia) was fined $53,000 for a 2017 medication error that caused a patient to have a heart attack.

7. Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in San Pedro received a $27,075 fine for failing to properly monitor a patient at risk of suicide in 2016.

8. Health officials fined Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento $75,000 for a fatal medication error that occurred in 2017.

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